People constantly talk about how shredding take much less skill than it does to play slowly. For instance, i saw a few videos of people playing covers of songs by Yngwie Malmsteen, as i plan on learning it for part of my studies. A recurring comment consisted basically of "Good technique, not enough soul". Typically, the soul in a person's playing for me would be their facial expressions (obviously) and the amount of vibrato and feel they have for the instrument, and how comfortable and natural the player looks when they play. These people play magnificently and display many if not all of these skills. And the same comment-ers criticise the players themselves, despite their skill and obvious familiarity with the instrument.

That's funny, because Yngwie is pretty the opposite of "no soul".
I wouldn't use YouTube comments as any form of measuring stick for how most people, of any demographic, think.

The ******s on YouTube are primarily 13 year old kids who think they play bl00z, and say stupid shit like, "BB king could say more with 3 notes than yngwie could say with 3000." You need to learn to filter this garbage out.

Music is all about what makes sense in a particular musical situation. Sometimes pulling the reigns back and keeping it is relevant to the song and genre. Other times, a song screams for some fast, highly technical climax.

That's funny, because Yngwie is pretty the opposite of "no soul".
I wouldn't use YouTube comments as any form of measuring stick for how most people, of any demographic, think.

The ******s on YouTube are primarily 13 year old kids who think they play bl00z, and say stupid shit like, "BB king could say more with 3 notes than yngwie could say with 3000." You need to learn to filter this garbage out.

Music is all about what makes sense in a particular musical situation. Sometimes pulling the reigns back and keeping it is relevant to the song and genre. Other times, a song screams for some fast, highly technical climax.

I agree with this dude, and i was gunna pitch the 13 year old kid thing if it wasnt for the possible blues cannon being rammed up my buttocks

To each his own, it's just that when I hear those superfast trebley as hell runs of 16th notes at 200 bpm I want to cut my ears off, And the problem it's not a lack of soul, on the contrary I find his music very cheesy and ''melodramatic'' (especially those reverbing 80s vocals...brr). I've the same problem with Steve Vai; I don't mind technical players (i'm pretty much a Buckethead groupie) but those 80s shredders are often too cheesy and over the top for my taste.

So lets take a nice diatonic chord progression. It'll be a I-IV-V7 in C (So the chords will be C-F-G7)

Over the C you will play C Ionian
Over the F you will play F Lydian
Over the G7 you wil play.... That's Right! G Mixo!

That's Modes for you! Now go try them out and see which you like the best. Modes are 100% the way to make yourself a better guitar player. Also, it's a great way to impress your friends with your immense music theory knowledge!

(Some guys here are going to try to convince you that i am wrong. These guys have not yet mastered teh modes and haven't yet battled the dragon in the crystal castle, and banged the princess with her huge boobs. Don't listen to them, they are trying to lead you astray in your quest).

one perspective is the soul of the music is bigger than the song and composer themselves.
To a lot of people 'Shred.' guitar is a gimic.
When I think of the 'golden age of shred.' i think of the 80's which many people now associate with material excess and lack of soul.
on the other hand you have a blues master ... say B.B King. he might say less is more? but his appeal comes more from the life he has lived, his guitar tells his story.

The 80's movie crossroad attempts to address the question the top seeder asked.
The answer in the film was , there is no secret song/formula, you have to write it yourself. and i believe this applies here as well.

The 80's movie crossroad attempts to address the question the top seeder asked.
The answer in the film was , there is no secret song/formula, you have to write it yourself. and i believe this applies here as well.

I liked that movie. I also took it as meaning "Play what comes from your heart, regardless of the situation." which is kind of what you said but different words...

Don't open if you haven't watched the movie:

show

I thought of this when Eugene fell back on his recently ignored years of classical training to rip out a Paganini-sounding solo, which won him the duel. Also, sure Jack Butler sold his soul to play the blues/blues rock/blues metal and could kick ass at it, but apparently couldn't keep up very well when playing other styles because his focus was too specific.

Movie itself, referring, in this case, not to the story portrayed by it, was also good to show that different styles are different and should always coexist peacefully because no one style is better than the other

I mean it was Ry Cooder, Steve Vai, and William Kanengiser (excellent classical guitarist), working together in the movie off-screen, and on the soundtrack and even on-screen during some scenes where they zoomed in on the hands. Whenever somebody treats music like a competition (I can play x nps and he can't or w player has more soul than y player), it just strikes me as childish insecurity or hidden jealousy.

Just listen to music and have fun playing what you want to play, and it will come from your soul. As long as you realize your shortcomings and constantly address them, you will sound good. Of course there will always be the haters, regardless of the style you play, but they can just deal with it and go outside for a smoke during your set or whatever.

Typically, the soul in a person's playing for me would be their facial expressions (obviously) and the amount of vibrato and feel they have for the instrument, and how comfortable and natural the player looks when they play.
Am i missing something here?